historicafandomcom-20200222-history
Edmund Hewlett
Edmund Hewlett (born 1 September 1736) was a Major of the British Army during the American Revolutionary War. Hewlett served as the garrison commander in Setauket, New York, and he led the British in their efforts to stop the Culper Ring; he commanded the British forces at the battle of Setauket on 22 August 1777. Hewlett came from an aristocratic background and was a friend of astronomer William Herschel, and he was known to be a lover of the humanities and arts. Biography Edmund Hewlett was born on 1 September 1736 to a wealthy aristocratic family in England, and he was forced to join the British Army to support his family after the Boston Port Act led to financial trouble for his father. Hewlett was commissioned as a Major, and he was sent to assume command of the garrison of Setauket in Long Island, a post that required him to combat espionage by the Culper Ring. Major Benjamin Tallmadge and Samuel Holden Parsons led a raid against Setauket on 22 August 1777, and while the raid succeeded in freeing some accused spies from execution, the British forced the colonials to retreat. Hewlett was kidnapped from Judge Richard Woodhull's Whitehall estate (where he was quartered during the war) by the 5th Connecticut Regiment on 29 November 1776 after they found a note signed in Captain McCarrey's blood with his tongue attached to it with a knife, stating that Hewlett was responsible; this was written by his former second-in-command Captain John Graves Simcoe, who held a grudge against him because of his dismissal of him for insubordination. Hewlett was accused of the captain's murder by Lieutenant John Chaffee, repeatedly professing his innocence and being tortured by the Continentals. He was held, naked, in a cage, and Hewlett was forced to cut off several of his own toes due to a severe frostbite infection developing. Hewlett managed to escape from capture when John Graves Simcoe led a New Year's Day 1778 raid on the rebel camp to kill Hewlett and make it seem as if the rebels killed him (Simcoe would do this to show his dream woman Anna Strong that he had attempted to rescue Hewlett), and Hewlett stabbed Simcoe before fleeing. Eventually, the rivalry culminated in the Queen's Rangers under Simcoe and Hewlett's British regulars brawling at the Strong Tavern, ruining the place. Hewlett told Simcoe that he would not return to Setauket, and Simcoe informed him that he would return after a special assignment in New Jersey; Simcoe fought at the Battle of Crooked Billet and the Battle of Monmouth under Henry Clinton, giving Hewlett some space from him. Later, Judge Woodhull decided to inform him that his son Abraham Woodhull was a spy for the patriots after much deliberation, as Hewlett's sanctioning of Abraham Woodhull to spy on the Sons of Liberty in New York City actually led to Woodhull spying on the British. Hewlett ordered for Abraham to be arrested, as he had violated his trust; Hewlett had taken a liking to Abraham and his friend Anna Strong, and he felt betrayed by Abraham's treason. Category:1736 births Category:British soldiers Category:British Category:Soldiers Category:Protestants Category:Majors Category:British Army Category:British majors Category:English